American Public Life 2007-2024 Form

Departments of education and school districts always have to make decisions about what to include in their curriculum.  There are a lot of life skills that people need that aren't taught in school.  The question is should those skills be taught in schools?I teach high school, so I'll talk about that.  The typical high school curriculum is supposed to give students a broad-based education that prepares them to be citizens in a democracy and to be able to think critically.  For a democracy to work, we need educated, discerning citizens with the ability to make good decisions based on evidence and objective thought.  In theory, people who are well informed about history, culture, science, mathematics, etc., and are capable of critical, unbiased thinking, will have the tools to participate in a democracy and make good decisions for themselves and for society at large.  In addition to that, they should be learning how to be learners, how to do effective, basic research, and collaborate with other people.  If that happens, figuring out how to do procedural tasks in real life should not provide much of a challenge.  We can't possibly teach every necessary life skill people need, but we can help students become better at knowing how to acquire the skills they need.  Should we teach them how to change a tire when they can easily consult a book or search the internet to find step by step instructions for that?  Should we teach them how to balance a check book or teach them how to think mathematically and make sense of problems so that the simple task of balancing a check book (which requires simple arithmetic and the ability to enter numbers and words in columns and rows in obvious ways) is easy for them to figure out.  If we teach them to be good at critical thinking and have some problem solving skills they will be able to apply those overarching skills to all sorts of every day tasks that shouldn't be difficult for someone with decent cognitive ability  to figure out.  It's analogous to asking why a culinary school didn't teach its students the steps and ingredients to a specific recipe.  The school taught them about more general food preparation and food science skills so that they can figure out how to make a lot of specific recipes without much trouble.  They're also able to create their own recipes.So, do we want citizens with very specific skill sets that they need to get through day to day life or do we want citizens with critical thinking, problem solving, and other overarching cognitive skills that will allow them to easily acquire ANY simple, procedural skill they may come to need at any point in their lives?

I know this is difficult to understand for an american. But in many countries in western Europe when you need healthcare you just go and see a doctor and then rather than greeting your sick frame with thick wadges of paper and forms to fill out that mostly try to prevent the doctor from experiencing any form of liability the doctor will just say, “What can I do for you?”I think your question though really is - how do I get healthcare coverage. The answer is in many countries in western Europe, assuming you are legally immigrated in to the country (and in some cases when you aren’t) you already have healthcare coverage. Asking for how you “get coverage” is a bit like asking - how can you get permission to walk down the street, enter a public park or go to the library. The state pays doctors salaries and the doctors are just there.Its notable that this year alone in the US I spent roughly 100 hours of my personal time just getting coverage ( filing eligibility forms etc., getting all those hospitals to talk to each other without screwing it up, ensuring no gap in coverage as I move between health plans, etc.). I lived in the UK for 10 years and in the entire time I was there I don’t think I spent even 30 minutes of my life worrying about healthcare coverage - despite needing everything from ER visits to specialist care.Some places will require you register with a local general practitioner (GP), in which case you need to call round the various GP surgeries and pick one that you a) like and b) can take on new patients. I know that this sounds like signing on for high end concierge care here in the US, but it turns out that when you get rid of all that paperwork and build a system that actually tries to save as many lives as possible you can afford to deal with people that way (oh and it costs way less - the UK system is roughly 1/3rd - yes I said that correctly - one third the cost of the US system per capita - that is the full actual cost not a subsidized cost).In the UK anyway a lot of your care is directed by your GP so that’s the thing you’d need to sort out. I can tell you that having a GP who is an effective quarterback for your care - well that’s way better than myself trying to string together a team of providers as I was sometimes forced to do here in the US.As to your question as to whether some countries are better than others. This is definitely true. France is ranked the highest, but to be honest I’ve had pretty good care in several countries in europe - and all of the countries in western Europe beat the US easily on most important metrics of national healthcare (e.g. life expectancy, infant mortality, maternal mortality). There are variations even within the countries, but in general due to national institutions that try to set standards, the standard is more uniform than here in the US.For more information on various universal healthcare systems check out the excellent question:How much does healthcare cost the individual in countries with a universal healthcare system? Would you change it for the "American system"?some quotes from the responses found there:“Would I change to an American system? Not a chance. Never in my life!”“The impossible question is why—in the face of all of the evidence—a substantial number of US citizens still embrace a system that can only be adequately described as “f***ed up”.”“Again, not a chance I'd want the US system.”“Changing here to the American system? No one is that stupid.”“I wouldn’t swap the UK system for the US one in a million years. You are being ripped off guys, wake up and do something about it.”“Why would I change it? It is way beyond stupid.”

You can rewire your brain!This is possible due to Neuroplasticity.Neuroplasticity refers to changes in neural pathways and synapses which are due to changes in behavior, environment and neural processes, as well as changes resulting from bodily injury To be honest, the brain is a dynamic entity undergoing changes all the time. As you read this innocent sentence, some neurons in your brain have fired and some synapses have become stronger. Voila! Your brain has been rewired a bit. But I am not talking about these sort of 'boring' changes which occur all the time.What if I told you, your actions can physically alter your brain? Some parts become larger than usual while some parts begin performing tasks they normally don't?László Polgár is the father of the famous "Polgár sisters": Judit, Susan and Sofia. He is an expert in chess and believed that "geniuses are made, not born". Before he had any children, he wrote a book entitled Bring Up Genius!, and sought a wife to help him carry out his experiment. He found one in Klara, a schoolteacher. He home-schooled their three daughters, primarily in chess, and all three went on to become strong players. Susan Polgar became the first female to earn the Grandmaster title.Because of her intense training, her brain had encoded chess board configurations and she was able to not only recognize these configurations but also what moves she had to do from there to win. Show her a random chess board setup that is infrequent her brain is just as slow as normal chess players. So what was happening? A scan of her brain activity showed she was using the part of the brain that recognizes faces to identify chess board configurations. This part of the brain is really developed in humans and face recognition is something humans are really good at. The hours of practice she had put in playing and studying chess had radically changed ho she used her brain to play it.Some of you might be thinking that it was because she got her training from childhood that she was able to become an expert and this fact is useless to someone older.Not really. Recent studies have shown although neuroplasticity declines it still can be made use of in older ages.The Sea Gypsies are a seafaring people who spend a great deal of their time in boats off the coast of Myanmar and Thailand, have unusual underwater vision -- twice as good as Europeans. This has enabled Mokens to gather shellfish at great depths without the aid of scuba gear. How do the Moken do this? They constrict their pupils by 22 percent. The brain orders the body to adapt to suite its needs. Another example of neuroplasticity has been found in London taxi drivers. A cab driver's hippocampus -- the part of the brain that holds spatial representation capacity -- is measurably larger than that of a bus driver. [from Neuroplasticity: You Can Teach An Old Brain New Tricks ]As children we have lots of free time and our brain is really quick to grasp new skills and ideas. To make signNow changes to the brain as grown ups one needs to exercise it regularly and focus on really specific tasks like learning to play the guitar or solve spatial puzzles. Because of the constraints of being social and other reasons, people miss out on this. It has been observed that spiritual leaders and prisoners of war have been able to develop extra-cognitive skills simply because of the immense amount of time they put in meditation, mental exercises and thought experiments. Plas­tic­ity can also be observed in the brains of bilin­guals (Mechelli et al., 2004). It looks like learn­ing a sec­ond lan­guage is asso­ci­ated with struc­tural changes in the brain: the left infe­rior pari­etal cor­tex is larger in bilin­gual brains than in mono­lin­gual brains.I'll end with some interesting bits from The Brain that Changes ItselfLearning and brain exercises slow age-related mental declines. For example, education necessitates extra branches among neurons to accommodate the new information; new branching increases the volume and thickness of the brain that would otherwise decline with age.Physical exercise promotes the creation of new neurons in the brain. Yet another reason to start that walking program.Specifically designed brain exercises have been shown to improve brain function in children and adults with learning disabilities.The brain undergoes measurable, physical changes as we think. Computer technology can now use these measurements and changes to allow paralyzed people to moves objects with their thoughts.Researchers at UCSD have used imagination and illusion to restructure brain maps and ‘trick” the brain into managing phantom pain and some forms of chronic pain.Performance can be improved through visualization because action and imagination can activate the same parts of the brain. People have learned to play the piano or achieve greater results in athletic endeavors through mental practice. Is it time to visualize eating a nice salad?[from Neuroplasticity Research Shows “Old Dogs” Can Learn New Tricks!]

Did you know that a million dollars in U.S. currency weighs just ten kilograms? It's true. A freshly-minted $100 bill weighs in at slightly over a gram, and 100 of them is ten thousand dollars. 100 of those stacks, and there's your million.It’s not often that 10 kilograms - 22 lbs of anything can change your life. But on February 25th, 2014, that’s exactly what happened.  Day 1: $1,000,000 As the man in the gray suit walks away, I shout after him “Hey, come back here. Who are you? What’s this all about?” He does not look back and quickens his pace. Between the choice of chasing down a stranger, or securing what appeared to be stacks of currency, I chose the currency. We can resolve the issue of his identity later, but a loose sack of cash is, well, a loose sack of cash. I look through the contents again. Bundles of US$100 bills, stacked a hundred bills deep, wrapped in standard $10,000 bank bands. A quick count revealed that there were precisely a hundred of those stacks in the bag, and spot-check riffle-counts of the $10k bands suggest that there are no short-stacks within. These were full bands of $10,000 apiece of non sequential USD$100 bills, and I was holding what appears to be a million even in cash. And it feels like just as many question are swirling in my head, as I feel my pulse pounding in my skull. Who was that guy? Why me? What is this all about? But the most urgent thoughts swim past the dizzying deluge of unanswerable questions. Fakes. It’s one thing to inadvertently be the recipient of counterfeit currency; as you’re reading this very sentence, a clerk at a retail store somewhere in your city just accepted a counterfeit bill and made change from the real money in the till.  But to be in possession of a life-changing amount of counterfeit currency of the United States of America? Well, that’s sort of thing that can bring the full might and wrath of their law enforcement apparatus on your head. My emotions swing wildly between the elation of instantaneous wealth, and sheer terror that I was minutes away from being snatched from my home and corralled into a Federal holding cell, where I will grow old within its walls. Terror was the stronger of the two emotions, and I quickly went to work. First things first: the bag had to go. If there is a GPS tracking device embedded in its seams, it would take too long for me to root it out. Better to incinerate it, and make sure that whatever trail it was laying stops at a dead-end for its pursuers. I pour the stacks of bills into an empty duffle back from my garage, and lock the bag in my condo. There’s an abandoned marina just a mile from my home and I get in my car and drive straight to the docks, at the top of the posted speed limit. After pouring enough Kerosene on the bag to see the shimmering mist of petroleum evaporate above it, I lit a book of matches and threw it in the middle of the mass. A satisfying “Whoomph” lights up the fire, and I watch the edges of the bag curl and burn - sizzling in the midmorning sun. As the remnants of the bag’s embers swirl around the scorched mark on the docks, I drive back to my condo, pulse still pounding in my skull.I still haven’t figured out if the bills are real or not, but if this morning’s bag-drop was an attempt to pin a piece of deeply incriminating evidence bearing a tracking device … well that plan has been thwarted. Or delayed, at the very least. What do I do? What should I do? Call the authorities? Consider how it would sound: “Hi, Police? Somebody dropped a million dollars in cash at my home. I don’t know if it’s fake or not. Please help.” Would you believe such a ridiculous story? I wouldn't. Any reasonable law enforcement dispatcher would consider the caller legally insane, and I'd be arrested on the spot and sent to psychiatric care. If the money was real, it’d be seized and I'll never see it or spend it. If it was fake, they’d find a way to stick “possession of counterfeit currency” charge on me, and I'll be shoved into a Federal concrete box, draining the best years of my life away, only to be released when I can’t chew solid food any more. No. The only recourse is to handle this myself. I call an old college friend practicing criminal defense law in New York City: “Hey Roger, it’s Kai. How’ve you been?” “I'm cool. It's been a while. What’s up man.” “We should catch up soon in person. But I’m calling because I need something.” “Ok, shoot.” I swallow hard - it’s difficult to even say the words: “Who’s the best CrimDef lawyer you know in California, who defends against Federal charges?” A moment. His voice lowers noticeably. “Shit, man. You in some kind of trouble?” “I’m not sure yet.” I said, truthfully. “But I need someone experienced and smart ... someone who you’d hire, if you’re facing serious attention from the Feds." He lets out a long exhale. “Vincent King. Former rockstar DOJ prosecutor in D.C. Had a change of heart halfway through his rotation in Maryland, when he was securing Life sentences for “interstate drug transportation” charges on young Black kids who were busted muling for the cartels. Was offered a fast-track promotion straight to the U.S. Attorney’s office but went rogue. He set up independent shop in San Francisco, fighting Fed cases. Heavy hitter clients, but makes a point of refusing to represent anyone accused of murder or human trafficking. Intimate knowledge of Federal prosecutorial procedures and evidence-collection protocol. Smart. Methodical. Very expensive.” “Perfect.” “I did mention ‘very expensive?’” “You did.” “I’ll send his contact information now.” =================================“I’m sorry - Mr. King is in court all day and won’t be back in the office. His earliest appointment is tomorrow morning after a client meeting. Shall I book him for 11am for you?” “Yes, thank you Marta.” “We’ll see you tomorrow at 11 then.” I look at the digital clock in my kitchen -  it reads 10:44am. Just me and a stack of bills which may or may not be fake, no formal legal representation for over 24 hours. It’s going to be a long day. Taking even a few of these bills to a bank to corroborate their authenticity is out of the question. If a bank officer confirms they are fraudulent, I’ll be arrested on the spot, and since I haven’t hired counsel, I’d be at the mercy of the Public Defender’s Office - the most overworked and underpaid division of the American Criminal Justice system. No, thank you. The next number I dial is an old friend, Robert Kendrick, sole proprietor of ‘Secher Nbiw - The Golden Path,’ a gold bullion dealer with a whimsical Dune reference in the name of his shop. I’ve known Robert for over a decade; his business deals in large amounts of (mostly) legal cash. By necessity, he has a high-end currency counter/ counterfeit detection device in his office, which can swiftly count and verify large sums of money with precision. “Bobby, it’s me.” “Hey, what’s up.” “Can I come to your office - like right now?” “Sure, what do you need?” “I, uh, came into some money. Long story, and I really don’t want to get too much into the details … but I’m wondering if you’d be willing to run the bills through your counter for me? I’m not 100% sure they’re real, and I’d like a discreet way of verifying them. If they are, I’m going to pick up some bullion as well.” “Sure man. Happy to help. How much money are we talking about?”“$60,000” I flinch at that - I hate lying to friends, but at this point, I have no idea who to trust. Though if you want to be technical about it, I did come across $60,000. I am just simply not telling Kendrick about the other $940,000 that accompanied the $60k in the satchel that dropped into my life just three hours ago. “Come on by.” I pull apart a few $10,000 currency bands and start plucking random $100 bills from the middle of every 10k stack to assemble a randomized sample of the entire million. 100 bills, wrap it up. 100 bills, wrap it up. 100 bills, wrap it up. Three bands, thirty thousand dollars, randomized and fully assembled to be tested for authenticity. “Half” of my alleged $60k windfall. The rest of the loose bills are refolded back so there remains 97 stacks of $10k racks, re-wrapped and properly sorted. In 30 minutes, I will figure out if I’m rich, or holding on to enough illicit contraband to send me to Federal Prison for the rest of my life. =============================The Golden Path, like most bullion dealers, work out of small, highly secured office covered by multiple layers of security. At any given moment, Robert may have several hundred thousand dollars in cash or gold, silver and platinum bullion on the premise, it pays to be careful. One of the few civilians in California with a Concealed Carry Weapons permit, Kendrick and I met on pistol gun range ten years ago; we bonded over shooting .45 ACP slugs down-range. He and I spent countless hours debating the relative merits of his preference for single-action 1911s, vs my bias toward double-action SIG-Sauer P220s. In the bullion business, you learn to know the boundaries of money-laundering laws, and know how to walk right up to the edge without triggering reporting thresholds. Drop US$10,000 in cash or more at a car dealership, bank or bullion dealer in a single day’s transaction, and the U.S. authorities gets very interested in the source of your funds. By law, these business that receive such sums of cash must fill out invasive forms to tie the transaction to you and your Social Security Number. Keep cash transactions below US$10,000, and you can avoid much of that intense scrutiny. “Welcome back man. I haven’t seen you in a while.” A discreet man, Kendrick does not inquire further about the source of the cash. In the business of buying and selling gold bullion, you learn to comply with the letter of the law, while avoiding conversational topics that can jeopardize one’s own plausible deniability. While his clientele is mostly legitimate, I’m certain the most lucrative of his customers are criminals - and he smart enough to know not to ask the sort of questions that open up a line of liability for him.  So long as the proper theatrics of anti-money-laundering protocols are observed, everyone is technically in the clear. I hand him the three $10k stacks and he pulls the bands off them and puts the entire block in his high-speed currency counter. After a second, the machine spools up and the digital counter swiftly runs from zero to three hundred. Thirty thousand dollars. “It’s real.” It’s real. His words hang in the air for a moment, and it takes a moment for them to sink in. One million dollars. Genuine currency of the United States of America, the most recognized and accepted form of money in the world - denominated in crisp, non-sequential bills. I hold my face as neutral as possible, but my excitement made me slightly dizzy, and I am glad I was sitting down. “What’s the spot price of Gold today?” Kendrick’s eyes drift to his laptop computer, where the current day’s commodities prices were fed to him via a live stream. “$1334 Ask, $1335 Bid.” I nodded my understanding.Precious metals bullion trade in troy ounces, and prices are quoted on a per troy oz basis; depending on the specific type of bullion (bars, coins, make), there are different markups from the quoted price. Depending on the specific form, Gold is typically marked up by USD$20 to $60 over the day’s quoted Bid price, and sells for $5~10 over the Ask. “What do you have in inventory right now for gold?” “The usual. South African Kugerrands. American Eagles. Canadian Maples. Oh, I do have a lovely Credit Suisse 5oz bar that somebody just sold to me, and I’m happy to let it go for $25/oz over spot.” I quickly did the mental math calculation. With the hard-cap spending limit of $10,000 before I trigger any mandatory anti-money-laundering paperwork, $1335/oz works out to about seven troy ounces of bullion I can buy, without forcing Robert to fill out invasive forms about me and my identity. “I’ll take the 5oz Credit Suisse bar, and two American Gold Eagles.” Kendrick pulls out a calculator and taps in the numbers, “So five troy ounces at 25 over spot plus Eagles at $50 over spot works out to nine thousand six hundred and -“ “Take ten grand and keep the change.” I interrupt. “I will be back for more.” He raises his eyebrow, but says nothing. “Thank you. I’ll be right back.” He counts back $20,000 and hands it to me, taking the $10,000 in the back room of his office and returning with the 5oz Swiss bar and two heavy 1oz American Eagles, along with a receipt for US$9675. I pause for a moment and hand him back one of the $10,000 stacks. “I know the limit is $10k in transactions per day. Consider this pre-payment for a purchase tomorrow. Your call, on a mix of anything up that totals up to $9500. Keep the rest for you and Katie.” A barely-perceptible smile flickers across his face, then his face was clear again. “Sure thing.” There’s nothing like the feeling of holding physical gold - the density, color and heft of the metal is like no other substance on earth, and it is no wonder that since its discovery, every culture on Earth treated gold with awe and respect. With 18 hours left before I can understand my legal options, there’s only two things I know for certain: 1. The money is real. 2. At least one person knows exactly where I live, and where the money was dropped off. I need to get mobile. I need to get mobile and off the grid ASAP.... to be continuedIf you'd like to be the first to get updates to this story, please add me kai chang 張敦楷 (kaichang) on Twitter. Part 2 (of 10) is being written right now, will be announced on Twitter. Please follow for updates on the saga of the Quora Millionaire! :D

Rather than asking us in an abstract way, if you could provide us a sample of a list and tell us the outcome you're seeking, perhaps we could come up with alternatives ... ("No" is so boring ... and could be wasteful if we're not sure of what outcome you're seeking...)

Rai Publication Scholarship Exam 2019- Rai Publication Scholarship Form 5th, 8th, 10th & 12th.Rai Publication Scholarship Examination 2019 is going to held in 2019 for various standards 5th, 8th, 10th & 12th in which interested candidates can apply for the following scholarship examination going to held in 2019. This scholarship exam is organized by the Rai Publication which will held only in Rajasthan in the year 2019. Students can apply for the following scholarship examination 2019 before the last date of application that is 15 January 2019. The exam will be conducted district wise in Rajasthan State by the Rai Publication before June 2019.Students of class 5th, 8th, 10th and 12th can fill online registration for Rai Publication scholarship exam 2019. Exam is held in February in all districts of Rajasthan. Open registration form using link given below.In the scholarship examination, the scholarship will be given to the 20 topper students from each standard of 5th, 8th, 10th & 12th on the basis of lottery which will be equally distributed among all 20 students. The declaration of the prize will be announced by July 2019.राय पब्लिकेशन छात्रव्रत्ति परीक्षा का आयोजन सत्र 2019 में किया जाएगा कक्षा 5वी , 8वी , 10वी एवं 12वी के लिए, इच्छुक अभ्यार्थी आवेदन कर सकते है इस छात्रव्रत्ति परीक्षा 2019 के लिए | यह छात्रव्रत्ति परीक्षा राजस्थान में राइ पब्लिकेशन के दवारा की जयगी सत्र 2019 में | इच्छुक अभ्यार्थी एक परीक्षा कर सकते है आखरी तारीख 15 जनवरी 2019 से पहले | यह परिखा राजस्थान छेत्र में जिला स्तर पर कराई जाएगी राइ पब्लिकेशन के दवारा जून 2019 से पहले |इस छात्रव्रत्ति परीक्षा में, छात्रव्रत्ति 20 विजेता छात्र छात्राओं दो दी जयेगी जिसमे हर कक्षा के 20 छात्र होंगे जिन्हे बराबरी में बाटा जयेगा। पुरस्कार की घोसणा जुलाई 2019 में की जयेगी |Rai Publication Scholarship Exam 2019 information :This scholarship examination is conducted for 5th, 8th, 10th & 12th standard for which interested candidates can apply which a great opportunity for the students. The exam syllabus will be based according to the standards of their exam which might help them in scoring in the Rai Publication Scholarship Examination 2019. The question in the exam will be multiple choice questions (MCQ’s) and there will be 100 multiple choice questions. To apply for the above scholarship students must have to fill the application form but the 15 January 2019.यह छात्रव्रत्ति परीक्षा कक्षा कक्षा 5वी , 8वी , 10वी एवं 12वी के लिए आयोजित है जिसमे इच्छुक अभ्यार्थी पंजीकरण करा सकते है जोकि छात्र छात्राओं के लिए एक बड़ा अवसर होगा | राय पब्लिकेशन छात्रव्रत्ति परीक्षा 2019 परीक्षा का पाठ्यक्रम कक्षा अनुसार ही होगा जोकि उन्हें प्राथम आने में सहयोग प्रदान करेगा | परीक्षा के प्रश्न-पत्र में सारे प्रश्न बहुविकल्पीय प्रश्न होंगे एवं प्रश्न-पत्र में कुल 100 प्रश्न दिए जायेंगे | इस छात्रव्रत्ति परीक्षा को देने क लिए अभयार्थियो को पहले पंजीकरण करना अनिवार्य होगा जोकि ऑनलाइन होगा जिसकी आखरी तारीख 15 जनवरी 2019 है |Distribution of Rai Publication Deskwork Scholarship Exam 2019:5th Class Topper Prize Money:- 4 Lakh Rupees8th Class Topper Prize Money:- 11 Lakh Rupees10th Class Topper Prize Money:- 51 Lakh Rupees12thClass Topper Prize Money:- 39 Lakh RupeesHow to fill Rai Publication Scholarship Form 2019 :Follow the above steps to register for the for Rai Publication Scholarship Examination 2019:Candidates can follow these below given instructions to apply for the scholarship exam of Rai Publication.The Rai Publication Scholarship application form is available in the news paper (Rajasthan Patrika.) You can also download it from this page. It also can be downloaded from the last page of your desk work.Application form is also given on the official website of Rai Publication: Rai Publication - Online Book Store for REET RPSC RAS SSC Constable Patwar 1st 2nd Grade TeacherNow fill the details correctly in the application form.Now send the application form to the head office of Rai Publication.Rai Publication Website Link Click HereHead Office Address of Rai PublicationShop No: -24 & 25, Bhagwan Das Market, Chaura Rasta, Jaipur, RajasthanPIN Code:- 302003Contact No.- 0141 232 1136Source : Rai Publication Scholarship Exam 2019

I wish that everyone, both liberal and conservative, was able to understand what “unintended consequences” are.10 Fascinating Examples of Unintended Consequences - Toptenz.netLiberals often think that if the INTENT of a policy is NICE, then the OUTCOME of the policy will be NICE.Liberals are NICE. Their NICE eyeballs look out onto the world a see a place where we should all be NICE.But being NICE often has negative consequences.Like letting a child molester or a rapist out of prison is NICE because we want to believe that everyone has some good in them. We want to feel that the person can be rehabilitated.But in reality, 92% of violent criminals will commit the same violent crimes when released from prison.So letting criminals out of jail after a few years is NICE and is also EVIL.Another big delusion is that a politician must have STRONG support to be elected.Sometimes politicians get elected because the opposition got bored and stayed home.America is a nation of centrists, that's why we have close elections. They shrug their shoulders and vote for whoever they sort of like better.Trump can get re-elected even if not one single person in the USA likes him. We have a binary party system, so if the voters dislike Trump less than they dislike Hillary (or whoever), then he'll be re-elected.In a binary political system, a politician is turned either on or off by the voters, like a light switch. Whether the individual voter adores him or hates him but hates Hillary more, the pro-Trump vote counts the same.In the last election, the greatest number of voters voted to stay home and watch Dancing with the Stars on TV. 42% of the eligible voters voted for Dancing With The Stars, 26% voted for Trump and Hillary each. In a pure democracy, the cast of Dancing With The Stars would be president.That's what makes Trump Derangement Syndrome so hilarious. After the election, everyone twirled about in confusion and "realized" that their neighbor Timmy who voted for Trump is a secret FASCIST.It's not that Hillary was an unlikable candidate and ran a horrible, disjointed campaign and got beaten by a blowhard. The fun and exciting version is that "Trump activated his white supremacist base." The same people that elected Obama twice are apparently white supremacists. LOL.I’m not a fan of Michael Moore, but he nailed it:

American National Insurance Company, headquartered in Galveston, covers seven million policy owners throughout the United States, Canada, Guam, American Samoa, and Western Europe. It was founded on the Strand in 1905 by William Lewis Moody, Jr., who served as company president until his death in 1954.

American Family ranked 10th out of 24 insurers in NerdWallet's ranking of the best car insurance companies, earning 4 stars out of 5 for overall performance. NerdWallet's rating is a score based on: J.D. Power ratings for customer service, claims satisfaction and shopping satisfaction.

The 'A' rating is the third highest of their 15 ratings and is the fifteenth consecutive year American Family Insurance Group received this rating. A.M. Best's financial strength rating reflects their opinion of an insurer's ability to meet its ongoing insurance policy and contract obligations.

Typically, American Family offers cheaper rates than State Farm for drivers with credit scores of less than 580.

American National, also known as ANICO Direct, is a top rated no medical exam life insurance company and currently in both our best rated life insurance companies , our best no medical exam life insurance companies and even our best final expense insurance companies list.